Christmas tree stand



July 2, 1957 R. LUBBERS 2,797,818

CHRISTMAS TREE STAND Filed July 5, 1955 INVENTOR.

(17.90 (048476 BY JM/fl/ 5mm l 4274mm ited States Patent Ofifice CHRISTMAS TREE STAND Renso Lubbers, Petoskey, Mich.

Application July 3, 1953, Serial No. 365,839

3 Claims. (Cl. 211--133) The present invention relates to an improved stand which is particularly but not exclusively adapted for use either as a Christmas tree holder or a flower pot stand. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No. 302,097, filed August 1, 1952.

One of the problems confronting the manufacturers and merchandisers of Christmas tree stands its the seasonal character of these items which limits the time during which they can be sold to approximately three or four weeks before Christmas Day. As a result, both the manufacturers and the merchandisers are very reluctant to invest in stands of good quality which may be slightly higher in cost, because these people do not care to take the risk of carrying an inventory of such items until the following Christmas season in the event all on hand are not sold during the Christmas season for which they were manufactured.

The present invention has been developed in order to overcome this problem and to provide a stand having greater application so that it will be a merchantable item throughout the entire year. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved stand which is constructed and arranged to support a Christmas tree in the most desirable manner, and which can be readily modified to permit its use as a flower pot holder, thus making it usable throughout the year.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved stand of the foregoing character which is constructed and arranged so'that a Christmas tree can be easily inserted into the stand and the tree will be held firmly in place in an erect position irrespective of irregularities in the trunk of the tree.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a stand which is constructed and arranged to support a plurality of items of various sizes and dimensions such as flower or plant receptacles.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention showing the stand in an upright position;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the stand shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the spider of the stand in another adjusted position;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view drawn to reduced scale showing the stand in an operative position for supporting a Christmas tree or the like;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 66 of Fig. 1.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring now to the drawing, a more complete description of the invention will be given. The stand 10 has a spider which includes an annular member 12 to which is pivotally connected at equally spaced circumferential points three arms 14. The latter can be formed in any desired manner and in the present embodiment are made from two parallel spaced strips of metal which are pivotally connected as at 15 to opposite sides of a radially projecting lug 16 cast in the annular member 12.

Suspended or depending from the spider is a bracket member which has a base plate 18 and three links 20 which are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the base plate 18 as shown at 22, Fig. 4, and at their upper ends to the arms 14 of the stand 10.

Referring to Fig. 3, it can be seen that each link 20 is pivotally connected at its upper end to its associated arm 14 by a pivot pin 26. The arm 14 is pivoted to the leg 24 by the pivot pin 28. Extending between the leg 24 and the link 20 is a coil spring 30 which aids in holding leg 24 in an upright position by urging the leg to ward a vertical position when the stand 10 is not in use.

It should be noted that the arms 14 are pivotally connected to the annular member 12 so that the arms 14 can be raised only to the level of annular member 12. This is accomplished by the square shoulder 32 which abuts against annular member 12 when each arm 14 is raised to a horizontal position, thus preventing further pivotal movement of such arm. The purpose for this construcf tion will be explained hereinafter.

The links 20 have guide bars 34 which may be welded in place if desired, such guide bars serving to support the lower end of a Christmas tree or the like centrally in the stand 10. Secured to the edges of the base plate 18 are three trays or receptacles 36 which extend between the legs 24 for use in supporting flower pots, not shown, or the like. 50. These trays or receptacles 36 may be removed when desired so that the stand 10 may be used solely for supporting a Christmas tree, and the stand 10 is shown in Fig. 4 in one of the positions in which it may be used for this purpose.

Where it is desired to use the stand to support a Christmas tree or the like, it is preferred that the trunk of the tree be passed through the annular member 12 when the spider is in the position shown in Fig. 2, that is, with the arms 14 folded into the legs 24. The arms 14 should then be spread apart toward the position shown in Fig. 4 and the tree can be pressed downwardly so that the pointed upper ends 38 of the lugs 24 will bite into the tree trunk, rigidly supporting the tree. During this operation the legs 24 can be individually adjusted as is necessary to assure that the tree is in an erect position.

When the stand is in this position the base plate 18 may or may not be substantially in the same plane as the lower ends of the legs 24, depending upon the size and shape of the tree trunk. If it is desired to supply water to the tree, this can be accomplished merely by placing a pan on the base plate 18 before the tree is assembled in the stand 10. It can be readily understood that the linkages provided will permit the positioning of the legs to be adjusted to compensate for any irregularities in the tree trunk thus assuring that the tree will be mounted so as to stand erect. Furthermore, the tree can be assembled in the stand by one person without requiring adjusting of screws or the like as is so common in the prior art devices. This stand has the same desirable features as my invention shown in my prior application Patented July 2, 1957 The receptacles 36 have raised peripheral edges Serial No. 302,097, and reference is made to this application for a more complete discussion of these features.

One of the important features of the present invention is that it is not limited in its use to a Christmas: tree stand, but it can be used throughout the year: for supporting flower pots, or the like. The trays or receptacles 36 can be attached to the base plate by screws, or by any suitable type of slip-on attachment. Thus, three or more flower pots can be carried on these trays. The stand can also carry a small flower pot on the upper surface of the annular member 12 when the stand is placed in the position shown in Fig; 2, and when it is desiredto carry a larger flower pot in this central location the annular member 12 can be depressed so that the arms 14 are in the same plane therewith. The larger: flower pot can then be supported on the surface shown in Fig. 3 which is formed by the annular member 12 and the horizontally positioned arms 14.

Another feature of the present invention is that it can be folded into a small compact unit when not in use which is very desirable from the standpoint of shipping the units as well as in displaying it for sale on a store counter or the like. Thus, the trays 36 can be removed and the entire unit can be folded into a relatively small vertical column which can stand erect on a store counter and will occupy very little space. The entire unit can also be easily packaged, and can be wrapped and shipped in a very small package so that shipping costs are maintained at a minimum.

From the foregoing it can be seen that a stand is provided which has all the attributes of my invention shown in application Serial No. 302,097, and in addition, the stand is constructed and arranged so that it has utility throughout the year. It is particularly useful in supporting plants and flowers, which is an important feature allowing the merchandisers of. this item to display it on their counters throughout the year.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A stand for supporting a tree comprising a spider having an annular member and a plurality of radial arms pivotally connected at their inner ends to the annular member, the opening in the annular member being adapted to receive the trunk of said tree, a plurality of legs pivotally connected at intermediate points to the distal ends of said arms, whereby said arms may take lowered positions along said legs or raised positions in alignment with the annular member, links pivotally connected at their upper ends to said arms adjacent the distal ends of the latter, a plate located below said annular member and pivotally connected to the lower ends of said links, said links converging toward said plate to provide a support for the base of the trunk of said tree, spring members connected between the upper portions of links and portions of said legs below said intermediate points for opposing spread-- 4 ing of the lower ends of said legs, the upper ends of said legs being pointed for gripping the trunk of the tree.

2. A stand for supporting a tree comprising a spider having an annular member and a plurality of radial arms pivotally connected at their inner ends to the annular member, the opening in the annular member being adapted to receive the trunk of said tree, a plurality of legs pivotally connected at intermediate points to the distal ends of said arms, whereby said arms may take lowered positions along said legs or raised positions in alignment with the annular member, links pivotally connected at their upper ends to said arms adjacent the distal ends of the latter, a plate located below said annular member and to which the lower ends of said links are pivotally connected, said links converging toward said plate to provide a support for the base of the trunk of said tree, spring means operatively connected between said links and said legs for opposing spreading of the lower ends of said legs, the upper ends of said legs having means for gripping the trunk of the tree.

3. A stand for supporting a plurality of objects comprising a spider having an annular member and a plurality of radial arms pivotally connected at their inner ends to the annular member, the opening in the annular member being adapted to receive one of said objects, a plurality of legs pivotally connected at intermediate points to the distal ends of said arms, whereby said arms may take lowered positions long said legs or raised positions in alignment with the annular member, links pivotally connected at their upper ends to said arms adjacent the distal ends of the latter, an element located below said annular member to which the lower ends of said links are pivotally connected, said links cooperating with said element to provide a support for the base of said one object, spring means operatively connected between said links and said legs for opposing spreading of the lower ends of said legs, and trays secured to said element and extending radially outwardly between said legs for supporting other of said objects. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 996,524 Raudabough June 27, 1911 1,273,639 Lyons July 23, 1918 1,644,807 Zeigler Oct. 11, 1927 1,754,998 Geartts Apr. 15, 1930 1,811,918 Danner June 30, 1931 1,897,905 Johnson Feb. 14, 1933 1,962,255 Neidinger June 12, 1934 2,014,896 Hollander Sept. 17, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 382,254 Germany Oct. 1, 1923 

